City of Newburgh and IDA offer help to those affected by Sandy

NEWBURGH - While the impact of Hurricane Sandy is being assessed by the City and County governments, the City of Newburgh has announced that the Community Development Block Grant program and the City’s Industrial Development Agency will offer a number of programs to assist homeowners and businesses that suffered costly damages due to Hurricane Sandy.

In a message to the City Council, IDA Chairman, Joshua L. Smith, advised that its staff will work closely with the City through the Office of Planning & Development to assess how its sales tax abatement program can work in tandem with existing Federal and State recovery programs. According to Smith, the IDA will utilize its Small Business Program to issue sales tax abatement letters to businesses, including owners of multifamily housing, incurring more than $50,000 in expenses for reconstruction and/or the purchase of furniture, fixtures and equipment. The sales tax abatement can all be utilized by owners of multifamily housing that have been damaged.

The City of Newburgh will also make available small loans and grants to homeowners and businesses affected by the storm to make repairs to property and replace damaged equipment.

"We will do everything we can to expedite assistance to those who suffered losses from the hurricane. Anyone who has sustained damage to their property should reach out to the Department of Planning & Development to see if they qualify for these programs," said City Manager Richard F. Herbek.

The process is simple: once a property owner has assessed the cost of rehabilitation or replacement, they should contact the Department of Planning & Development at ckain@cityofnewburgh-ny.gov or call (845) 569-9400 or the IDA Office at ida@cityofnewburgh-ny.gov or call (845) 569-7369. All applicants for any CDBG assistance program will automatically be reviewed for IDA sales tax abatement.

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